Our commitment to respect human rights.
Our commitment to respect human rights is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other internationally recognised human rights frameworks.
Our approach to modern slavery is part of our overall approach to respecting human rights. We are committed to preventing, identifying, and addressing modern slavery in our operations and within our supply chain.
Read more about our good governance approach, our human rights policy (PDF 2.8MB) and Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 5.9MB).
Reflecting on our history
We can trace Aviva’s history back over 300 years to 1696. Given our long heritage, it is likely that Aviva’s ancestor companies invested in, and insured, businesses involved in the slave trade. This is unacceptable now and should have been unacceptable then.
We should not deny or erase what happened in the past but we can and should apologise. We deplore any such connection, regret any association with an evil trade and are sorry for any involvement in the pain and suffering. We also can and must ensure it does not happen in the future.
Today, we have a commitment to prevent instances of modern slavery in our business and supply chain. Our ambition is to have a truly diverse and inclusive culture that enables everyone to be themselves and to thrive, no matter their background.
Care
One of our values is to ‘care’. We understand the positive difference we make in our customers’ lives. And in the lives of our partners and those in the communities around us. Every day.
Human rights concerns all of us, and are also core to our business interests.
We work across our business to deliver consistently on our commitments to:
- treat our customers fairly and protect their right to privacy
- promote equal opportunities and employee rights
- engage with our suppliers on human rights matters
- invest our money in a responsible manner.
The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark
We are one of the founding partners of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB). It ranks globally listed companies on their human rights performance so people can use the information to decide who they do business with.
Prevention of modern slavery
In March 2017 we published our first Modern Slavery Act statement detailing the work we undertook in 2016 to assess the risks of modern slavery in our own business. We continue to publish our annual statement and our next statement will be published in June 2025.
Read our 2022 Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 12MB)
Read our 2021 Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 5.3MB)
Read our 2020 Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 5.7MB)
Read our 2019 Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 4.4MB)
Read our 2018 Modern Slavery Act statement (PDF 2.3MB)
Read our 2016 and 2017 Modern Slavery Act statements (PDF 1.9MB)